This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

His father was a hafizh of the Qur’an and had reportedly performed his hajj 35 times by walking from Tarim to
Makkah and Madina. He undertook the task
to spread and teach Islam in the villages he passed through along the
journey. Shaykh ‘Umar’s (q.s.) mother was Shaykha bint ‘Awad Abu
Bakr Bazaghfan (q.s.). His fourth grandfather, who was his namesake,
Shaykh ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdullah Bagharib (q.s.),
was a Quthb asw-Swiddiqah al-Kubra’
who had more than a thousand students who had all memorised the Qur’an. According to Shaykh ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdullah
al-Khathib (q.s.), among the students
was the famous Habib ‘Abdullah al-Haddad (q.s.),
the one known as Swahib ar-Rathib.

When he was 13 years old, Shaykh ‘Umar Bagharib
(q.s.) was given the responsibility
to teach. He then traveled to al-Qaryah
to teach Sayyid Muhammad ibn Husayn’s (q.s.)
children for three years. Upon the
request of Habib Ahmad ibn Hasan al-‘Aththas (q.s.), he then went to al-‘Ajlaniyyah to teach the children there,
and became the imam of Masjid al-‘Ajlaniyyah
when he was 18 years old. It seems that
his style of teaching was greatly accepted by children wherever they were
because when he migrated to Singapore around 1935, he opened three classes for
boys and girls, teaching them the Arabic Language, Qur’an and fiqh. Due to his affinity to teach children, he was
affectionately called ‘mu’alim’,
teacher. Those classes were held at
Masjid Khadijah, the mosque where he was appointed and served as imam for 33
years. Besides teaching the children, he
was also the teacher for Shaykh ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdullah al-Khathib (q.s.). Although his son, Shaykh Zakaria ibn ‘Umar
Bagharib (q.s.), later became Shaykh ‘Umar
al-Khathib’s (q.s.) student, Shaykh ‘Umar’s
(q.s.) humility obliged him to always
kiss the hand of Shaykh Zakaria (q.s.),
as an honour to his father.

Shaykh ‘Umar Bagharib (q.s.) was also the first khalifah
for the Qadiriyyah Thariqa’ in
Singapore. His shaykh was Mawlana ‘Abd al-‘Alim asw-Swiddiqi (q.s.).

He passed away in Singapore, on Monday, 24th
June 1968, 28th Rabi’ al-Awwal 1388, and was buried in Bidadari
Cemetary. May Allah (s.w.t.) Bless him and raise his maqam.